Do Arsenal have the mentality to retain Premier League title?

[Getty Images] Arsenal ended their long wait to win the Premier League again by securing the title last season. It means they begin this campaign as defending champions - something they have not done since the 2004-05 season. The Gunners are favourites to lift the trophy once more - but what does history tell us about how defending champions perform, and just how likely is it that Mikel Arteta's men can claim back-to-back Premier League titles? Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola made defending the Premier League title look easy in recent years. Before Guardiola there were only two managers who had overseen successful title defences in the Premier League era - Sir Alex Ferguson at Manchester United and Jose Mourinho at Chelsea - and only City have defended their title successfully since 2009. One of the reasons why it can be so difficult to defend a title is the psychological factor. For a whole campaign a title-winning team's players have been working hard towards the goal of winning the league and the moment it is achieved will understandably feel like a huge success and relief. But then, just a few months later, those same players have to build up to the idea of having to do it all again, only this time with a bigger target on their back as defending champions. Ex-Premier League winger Andros Townsend believes the Gunners will find it hard to replicate their 2025-26 achievement because of the competitive nature of the Premier League. "The last two times Liverpool have won the title the next season they have not been able to replicate it. They have had relatively poor seasons," Townsend told BBC Radio 5 Live, with the Reds finishing third and fifth after lifting the Premier League trophy. "When you get over the line, that huge relief. Do you go into the summer with the same sort of aggression and mentality?"